Humanity Can Be A 12 Step Program
by Broken Mantra
Summary: Sequel to "To Walk In Fates Garden" KimiSaku, InoKaka. It's amazing that two roads of life, so entirely different were marred by a singluar event. Sometimes the trek to get back on the path of the life you knew can be just as daunting. A tale of how four broken souls attempt to redact the errors of the past and move into some unknown future, anything is better than emptiness.
1. Chapter 1

Humanity Can Be A 12 Step Program

Prologue

_In most cases, trauma can revert a human being, no matter how proud or strong into an infantile state of fear and unknowing. This is what happened to two people directly seeding from a particular trauma, though different but the same…_

* * *

"You don't understand." The soft voiced blonde said, the tears that had been long since shed etching their claws into her voice.

"Then MAKE me understand." A strong voiced man replied. Though it could be perceived as anger, it was far from it.

"I can't explain what happened. I don't want to explain what happened. That's why I can't see you again… ever." She said, emotional strain bridging her closer to the point of screaming from pain and unknowing.

"So you're just going to toss me aside. Throw me away because of an order I was given?" he rebutted, grabbing her arms and shaking her. Somehow thinking this action would cause the woman he loved to understand he was only trying to help her.

How emotions, so strong in their fiber be so detrimental. Confusion and cowardice… the fear of losing something unique quickly swept up Shikamaru.

"I'm not tossing you aside," she replied with an edge of familiar sarcasm that set her apart from most women. "I'm tossing me aside" she said as she slammed the door of his apartment and set off into the night, wondering what would become of her without the person whom had grounded her for years.

* * *

"So can you tell me what it was like there? What Oto was really like…" the strange nurse asked her patient. She didn't expect a reply, she never expected a reply but she could never stop herself from asking that question. There was so much to that country that no person knew of; the simple idea of it intrigued her.

A long silence dominated the one sided conversation, as it always did when she tried to speak with him out of the confines of the hospital.

"… It was like that room. Nothing changed. The faces in the country changed, but the tone was always the same." The pale man replied.

Shocked by his answer she took a moment to digest the words he spoke, over his one month tenure in the hospital she learned this about him; though he spoke very little, his words often carried multiple meanings.

"So why did you stay so long?" she asked, curiosity edging into her professionalism.

"it was all I knew, why did you hang on to the idea of the younger Uchiha for as long as you did?" he retaliated.

His conversationalism continuing to surprise her, she was finally at a loss for words, and welcomed the familiar silence to shift the awkwardness.

"he would always speak of you. Rather highly most of the time. Always of how skilled and beautiful you were. How you alone made him question if he should seek out my master, but he always ended that if this were the case, he would be the death of you. This was what I didn't understand." He said, a puzzledness layering his smooth voice.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

A barrage of thoughts assaulted every corner of her mind. Had her conceptions been wrong, had he not deserved his fate, could she have done more? They continued like a bleak parade in a war struck and shocked town.

His voice echoed through her mind pulling her away from the dreary speculation.

"you grow heavy with this. Let it not concern you, there are many things that can't be explained. Fate is a strange wind blowing through our hair and weaving its way into our lungs…"

This comment struck her as hard as a fist in the sternum, though painful it calmed her.

Finding the fortitude to speak without letting her emotion seep into her wording she suggested they return to the room.

* * *

_I know… I know… super short… mildly unfair and just a little mean. But my muse, that bitch Ophelia, finally painted her nails, plucked her eyebrows and got back to work. This wouldn't be me if it wasn't dark so yeah… I don't think there will be happy trees and rainbows in this one. Maybe a break in the storm if I'm happy lol… well thank you all again for reading and I'm so sorry it's taken so long to get me back on this. Sometimes I just don't' like to rush things._

FYI- I'm more inclined to update if I get some reviews… so please take a moment and tell me what you thought ;) and this is JUST the prologue...

Adieu- BM


	2. Chapter 2

Walking home this night was quite a bit more taxing than any other. The air seemed heavier, breathing more labored for Sakura.

The words of the man from Oto hung heavy in her mind, and like a cinderblock in her heart.

The part of her that still held on to a fine thread of hope for her former comrade always wondered if she ever crossed his mind, every girl who has experienced unrequited love has unintentionally done the same. She always dismissed it, he seemed far too self absorbed in her opinion to think of anyone outside of himself.

When Kimimaro told her that he had indeed spoken of her, in any capacity, the part of her that always held out for Sasuke finally cried. She realized he was gone.

She knew he had been dead for over a month now, which was not the issue. The problem was that he was gone, and those thoughts of his, that fell onto Kimimaro's ears were never meant for her to hear. She was never to know that he thought of her, that because of her he second guessed himself.

It hurt her most that even with all of that, she wasn't enough to save him.

* * *

_There is a full moon tonight_, he noted before he breathed deeply and allowed himself to lay back into the lush green grass of the hospital courtyard. A warm and gentle breeze caressed the skin exposed by the Doctor's jacket; he could smell the dew of the morning. The scent was intangibly sweet but strong in its own respect.

As he did every night, he studied the stars in the sky, he couldn't explain why; he didn't know what they were or how they came into being. He only knew that he couldn't take his eyes off them. The sky guest tonight, reminded him of a dark and thread-bare blanket held against the light of a camp fire. Mesmerizing.

In the month he had 'resided' here, this place felt more like any home to him than his prior village or even Oto. He felt something foreign and welcoming from this small yard with it's shorn grass and intricately preened gardens full of flowers, shrubs, trees and vines. He could only speculate this was the feeling was that of Peace.

For the first time since he could retain memory, he dreamed: of nothing more than the warmth of the sunlight on his face.

* * *

The petite blond sat on her modest couch, knees pulled taut to her chest and lamented heavily.

Not only over the trauma of the massacre at Oto one month ago, but now over the loss of the man she loved. She couldn't say it was loss; she shoved him away from her in a desperate attempt to get as far removed from that bloodshed as she could.

She didn't see Shikamaru as the man she grew up with, the man he grew to be, or the man she grew to love.

The only way she could see him now was as he held her at the gates of Konoha, covered in gore and stoic. She knew he had his orders, as they all did, but he was the conductor of this macabre orchestra and the piece claimed a part of Yamanaka Ino's soul.

She raised her face from her knees and took in her apartment. She hadn't cleaned in a few days; she noticed faint signs of neglect. Clothes scattered about, every cabinet door in her kitchen open, her favorite mirror; a gift from her mother torn from the wall and broken to pieces. She was coming undone.

With the back of her hand she wiped the tears from her face, amazed she was even still able to cry.

She stood from the couch and imagined if there was some kind of God looking down on her, if it would laugh at what it saw or if it would feel pity. She imagined all it would see is a tattered princess stowed away in a broken down palace.

For the first time in almost a week she looked in the mirror, not much had changed.

Her face was a little more sullen, her eyes still as puffy, and her normally bronze skin now a sickly pale, her blonde hair in a disheveled braid pulled over her shoulder.

She shuddered; she looked like she was dying.

Knowing she needed to get out of her soon-to-be tomb she pulled on her sandals and left her house. When she began going out at night she quit locking her door.

Her legs stung as they moved along the sidewalk, for the most-part they had been pulled to her chest for a majority of the day. The feeling of blood rushing to nearly dead limbs brought discomfort which she easily ignored.

Soon, they carried her to their seemingly nightly destination, the grave of her mentor. She knew, if anyone could have helped her right now it would be Asuma-sensei.

"I know I was just here yesterday, and I look like shit. I just wanted to talk. I'm being selfish I know, I just don't know what to do anymore. I feel like I'm dead and just going through motions, ya know. Like I'm breathing and walking and thinking but I'm not living anymore. I don't know what to do Asuma! I cry and I cry and I cry and I know none of this does a fucking bit of good but it's all I can do" She spat before breaking into hysterics.

"Why did you leave us? Why did we all have to do this? Necessary evil, bullshit. There was NOTHING necessary about killing people without question Asuma! NOTHING" her voice broke into a shout…

* * *

Kakashi was walking the street as he normally did this late in the evening. Insomnia was good for something, mainly for reflecting and reading but on this night it was to visit the ghosts of the past who had refused to go softly into that night.

A woman's frantic shouting broke his focus from his infamous smut. It was an emotionally charged shout, only one voice. One woman's very familiar voice.

He pocketed his book and sunk his hands deep into his pockets; he figured if his friend couldn't be there for his students, he could pick up some of that slack. Besides, he just buried one of his.

"I don't know why I wanted to do this. Why didn't you tell me we were EXPECTED to do as we were told without question? I'm sorry Asuma, but I'm no fucking robot." The blonde screeched.

Kakashi figured he would wait a bit longer before interrupting her and making his presence known, for the time being he was only to observe, hidden carefully away by an oak tree. He had heard about her experience in Oto, he didn't envy it, but to say he didn't know exactly how she felt would be a bold faced lie.

"I'm sorry Asuma; I'm not coming back here again. I just wanted to tell you that I'm done walking this path. The damage is done, but I'll be damned by whatever to have to go through this again. I want to save people not take their lives. So this is me saying "I quit the team". You always said it was my choice if I wanted to give up, and I do. I'm done." She said, much more calmly this time.

"You know, Yamanaka, maybe that isn't such a bad idea." Hatake Kakashi stated as he sat next to the troubled young girl and stared again at the stone they always seemed to meet at.

"What is that supposed to mean." She snapped, a bit of spark coming from her words, Kakashi found this to be a promising thing.

He smiled, which translated to a creased eye and the outline of a smile hidden under his mask.

"Oh nothing other than sometimes, it isn't such a bad idea to take a break or even quit something." Kakashi said, offering her words she very much needed to hear.

She turned to him and made eye contact, he saw a faint light deep in those eyes, a silent plea for him to keep talking.

"The whole key to this, Ino, is to allow yourself time to adjust to what happened. It's done; there is no going back and undoing any of it. You have to let it make you stronger, or that pain will consume you. Most importantly you need to make sure you do everything in your power so that it never happens again. Do you understand?"

"I guess so, but when you don't have power to change anything there isn't much you can do is there." She rebutted, a small razor lacing her words.

Kakashi took in her features. She was obviously wracked by the trauma; he almost wanted to cry for her. A pretty crying girl was always his downfall.

"We all have power to change things Ino. More than you know. All it takes is effort." He said, offering her yet another smiling eye.

"Effort. You say?"

She smiled for the first time in a month.

* * *

Yes I know. Hell hath frozen over.


	3. Chapter 3

Humanity Can Be A Twelve Step Program

Chapter 3

Firstly, I would like to apologise at length for my abandonment of this fiction. I would like to thank Mizuki's Dead Fire for sending me a rather uplifting review. I receive reviews sporadically but this one resonated and after hearing someone had genuinely enjoyed this work, I felt I should certainly do my best to continue it on. I'd also like to thank everyone who has reviewed, alerted and favorited this work. I know it's rather easy to pass over considering all of the odd pairings and the bleak undertones but I feel this is probably one of the best things I've written. Again, I'm humbled deeply by the wonderful response I've received with this, and it's been neglected for far too long. Without further adieu, I bring you chapter three of Humanity Can Be A Twelve Step Program.

* * *

The weight of the conversation with the pale Sound Nin weighed down the pink haired medic just like the blanket that her grandmother had made for her in her youth, it was heavy, almost unconfortably so but offered a kind of unspoken comfort that had soothed her whenever she was sick.

To think, even for a moment that Sasuke held her in some unknown degree of regard only intensified the ache of the recent loss. A dream of a lifetime she had seen with him that to her, could have been plotted into the very stars themselves. She understood that each of us chose our paths and his choices brought him to an untimely end. The pain of loss is something akin to losing a limb, you had something; once a part of your very being, and when that limb is torn from your body by injury or disease you do lose it in the literal sense, but your nerves tingle with the memory. You never forget the feeling of your right arm.

Sleep eluded her for many hours, silently pouring over all the words that were doomed to forever remain unsaid between the both of them. Closure would never come and all that is left of that piece of her heart dedicated exclusively to Sasuke Uchiha had vanished, just like a limb. A slight hollow but the neurons of memory resounded on.

* * *

For the first time in several weeks, Ino Yamanaka recessed herself to sleep. For many weeks before her incounter with Kakashi Hatake, they had only sat in amiable silence. Doing nothing more than each of them remembering a past of pain, loss and choices in eachother's silent companionship. In that brief exchange with the ever mysterious Copy-Nin the night before, Ino found something she assumed to be lost to her forever, and that thing was Hope.

More than simply the words and implications that Kakashi had mentioned, she realized that she allowed herself to be a victim to her own trauma. She was a willing slave to that trauma and she wanted no more to be a captive and to remember the carnage and brutality that encompassed the sterilisation of the Village of Oto with every breath she took and every day she walked the physical realm.

Kakashi had done for her what no one else had been able to do. He reached her. She knew that his life was littered with far more bloodshed, conflict and atrocities than she in her young age had yet to experience. She knew this wihtout him telling her a thing, you don't get to be an ANBU Captain without the price of flesh.

When she saw that Kakashi paid homage to the dead and fallen, she realized that he lived for those left behind, just like every good soldier should do. It was a paramount and unspoken coping mechanism within all great shinobi. The idea of vengance and homage went hand in hand. He excelled because of loss, he persevered because he had to, he couldn't quit until his debt to the fallen had been paid in full and it never would be.

It wasn't as much in the words exchanged between the two, it was in the language of the body. The way his head tilted to the right just a fraction as a slight twitch crossed his uncovered eye, hinting for her to take the words he left her with, not just as words themselves but an entirely cryptic meaning laying underneath the language. He didn't say she was right or wrong with how she was choosing to handle this situation, but his body told her that she cannot allow herself inner defeat over orders that werent made by her hand.

She rolled uncerimoniously into the plush, white conglomeration of sheets and comforter while allowing her head to rest on her favorite firm pillow before the nagging strings of sleep pulled her willingly into the land of dreamless dreams.

* * *

Morning always came far too soon for Sakura. The birds seemed too happy and the sky a watercolor of orange and red resulting from the impending dawn. It reminded her of a grapefruit, and perhaps the monotonay of the morning was caused because she ate the damned fruit every morning. She had always attempted to try something else for breakfast, but Sakura Haruno was a creature of devout habit. More often than not, she would only be irritated at the presence of grapefruit in her shopping bags on Wednesday afternoon (that was grocery day) as she was packing the perishables away in their homes on her counter, cabinets and fridge.

Coffee perculated away within the french contraption, like always while she made quick work of sectioning her grapefruit of the morning. Coffee migrated through the humble home and mixed plesantly with the smell of fresh linen, because Tuesday would always be laundry day for the medic.

She made her way to the dresser her mother had given her as a birthday gift several years ago and pulled out a simple pair of black slacks from the third drawer down, and a simple white tee shirt from the second drawer from the top. Shedding her athletic shorts and tank top which comprimised her sleeping garments, she replaced them with the slacks and the tee. Walking briskly from her bedroom at the end of the hall back into the open kitchen, while in transit, tying her long rose colored locks into a high and smooth ponytail. Making sure her bangs were pulled securely back was integral to her morning ritual. She started pullling the hair away from her face, when it wasn't properly restrained it caused her far more distraction than it was worth and she'd grown over the insecurity of having an allegedly large forehead years ago.

After affirming that her hair was pulled back to her standards, she moved to the stove and poured herself a scalding cup of coffee, she took the pristine white cup and the matching white plate of grapefruit to the door of the back patio with her.

This was her favorite part of the morning. The one thing she did every morning simply for herself. She sat on her favorite worn, wicker out-chair and looked out over her modest yard. There wasn't anything particularly special about it other than she didn't have neighbors behind her, only to her left and right which left a beatuiful landscape of forest and the soft, tinkling sound of a flowing river at some unseen point hidden behind the trees. The grass of her lawn was green and undecorated, which Ino had raged on and on about for years, calling her yard boring just like the poor and unfortunate billboard-browed medic. The recollection of the memory teasted a slight smile from her lips as she took her first sip of coffee and watched as the sun began poking its glossy head over the treetops.

She wondered fleetingly about Ino's well being and penciled in a time in her minds agenda to stop by and see her today.

* * *

Kimimaro awoke in the sterile, white room just as the sun was peeking over the horizon tinting the room with a comforting tinge of color provided by the celestial oddity. He had been sleeping rather well over the last few days and considered it due solely to the slowly dissipating ache in his body and the general sense of peace he felt within the Village Hidden In the Leaves.

He freed himself from his bed and made his way to the large window which occupied his room where he looked over the streets slowly coming to life with the Village's residents. He saw children trail unceremoniously behind their mothers, zerging in directions which deviated from the direct path of the parental units, their faces twisted in the uncommon expression of joy. The scenes that played out beneath him piqued his interest, which he assumed, is why he woke so very early and perched very easily simply to take in the moments produced by others. He knew he would have close to thirty minutes before the pink haired medic, Sakura would come into his room to check him over.

Three soft knocks rapped upon the metal door before it was opened carefully, in stepped the tall, blonde Hokage, Tsunade.

"Good morning Kimimaro. How did you sleep?" She queried, taking in the man's positiion by the window.

"Do not trouble yourself, Hokage-sama. I do not intend to escape." He stated in his cool tenor.

Tsunade smiled to herself before she made her way to sit at the edge of his bed, closest to the window and the pale cryptic resident.

"I didn't believe you would. I'm here to see how you are doing, if your pains are leaving. I am a leader first, and a medic second you know, I still have the liberty to check on the hospital's charges." She replied, a faint hint of playfulness lacing her words.

"The pain is much less, thank you. I will certainly repay my debt to you and your village for this… assistance." He stated, not quite sure how to eloquate his meaning into words.

"I believe you will. This is not the only reason I've come here, I'm sure you understand that." A firm seriousness wafting over the statement.

"I assumed as much. A woman of your calibur surely has many things to contend with on a daily basis." He replied, eyes never leaving the scenes unfurling outside the window.

"Aye, you are quite observant, Kimimaro-San. I come here today to let you know what I've decided to do. It would be cruel to leave you in this room for ages when you've committed no real crime to my Village. True, you engaged in combat with my shinobi on a few occasions resulting from Uchiha Sasuke's defection but I cannot hold you, yourself accountable because you were acting on orders from your leader." Tsunade stated, she would never acknowledge Orochimaru as a Kage, even though he unofficially held the title of the small Village of Sound.

After hearing the pretense of conversation that he was bound to become involved in, he turned his gaze from the window and met the Hokage's stare.

"What is it that you've decided? Are you to put me to death or exile me from this place?" He asked and Tsunade noted the brief twinge of dissapointment seep into his words at the mention of exile.

"Nothing of that sort Kimimaro-san. I've decided that I will do nothing. Your leader is no more, Sasuke Uchiha is no more, and those two are the main reasons that you've been held here under such security. Over the last four months and the countless reports regarding your progress I am a firm believer that you will pose no threat to this village. Kimimaro Kaguya, the Village Hidden In the Leaves offers you citizenship and refuge here. With this citizenship you can do as you please. When you are well you may enlist as a shinobi of the leaf or you can choose another profession. This decision in your life is solely yours and yours alone. I will not be giving you an order or a timeline to accept or decline this offer. The council members agree as well that our safety is in no way jepordized by your presence. Believe me young man, it is a cold day in Hell where the council and I agree on anything, therefore you can consider yourself exceedingly lucky."

Tsunade rose from the bed and made her way to the door leaving a slightly awe-striken Kimimaro sitting on the windowseal, still as a mountain.

"From now on, your room will remain unlocked, you can come and go as you please." She said before leaving the room officially with a slight smile on her face.

* * *

Sakura entered the hospital at 7:06. She would make it to Kimimaro's room by 7:15 exactly. Four minutes for the trek to one of the highest floors, taking the stairs of course and aloting some time should she run into a colleague to make small talk.

Her tiny black heels clicked in steady rhythm down the white corridors of the hallway before she stopped at the door at the very end of the hall and rapped four times.

"Kimimaro how did you sleep?" She stated with a large and beaming smile as she swung the door open to find the room unoccupied. A hot streak of fear and terror ripped down her spine before she turned on her heels and bounded quickly up several more flights of stairs that would ultimatley bring her to the Hokage's office.

Without knocking she barged in.

"Tsunade-sama! Kimimaro is missing!" the rosette haired woman stuttered out, exhausted from the break neck pace she traveled and the stress mainifesting itself physically.

Tsunade always loved leaving some people guessing. The monotany of being a politician made her rather cynical and more often than not, allowed herself to cause some degree of unwarranted panic amongst her favorite people.

Fighting back a smirk, she steeled her expression and answered the obviously panic-wracked medic.

"He's left his room then." She smiled and turned in her chair, just enough where the pink haired girl couldn't catch her downing a rather potent shot of sake.

"Well obviously he's left his room! We've got to go find him! Give me a chance to go find him please!" Sakura sputtered, still not catching on to the slight sparkle in her mentor's eyes and the obvious smirk.

"Sakura. It's fine. He can come and go as he pleases now. The council annulled his charges and I've offered him citizenship." She stated before loosing her self control and allowing a jubilant laugh from her mouth.

"I so fucking wish you would stop that Shishou." Sakura deadpanned. There were some tricks in life, you never quite got used to.

* * *

XXXXX

That concludes the third chapter. I understand there will be some people who don't necessarily agree with Kimimaro getting off scott-free, but he really didn't. He was held up in a hospital room for four months and shows no signs of aggression. I kind of like the rather uplifting tones of this chapter. Sometimes it's hard to drone on and on about hopelessness and pain. I'll hash out enough of that with the next chapter I'm working on at the moment. So Kimimaro is a 'free-ish' man! Good for him right. Ino got a clue and Sakura has Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or is extremely type A. These are all important facets. Anyway, I do hope you've enjoyed and please feel free to review. I really look forward to them.

Oh, and it's much easier for me to update if I get a little review love. I need some affirmation too ya know!


	4. Chapter 4

It had been a very productive morning for Yamanaka Ino.

For the first time in weeks, she cleaned her house, ate a proper meal, shopped for groceries and currently had hot rollers fastened to her clean, blonde hair.

She marched from the bathroom to her bedroom and removed the simple white eyelet dress from the bed. She slipped it easily over her head, careful to avoid snagging the material on the hot rollers.

After a few moments of fidgeting with the light material she found herself back in the bathroom removing the curlers from her hair. A part of her felt more normal than she had felt in months with this little act. With her hair free from the rollers, Ino was pleased to see her long blonde hair cascading over her shoulders. Her fingers found the small box which held her hair accessories and after much deliberation between shades and hues, she settled on a simple silver hair barrette. She pulled sections of hair away from her face and fastened them together with the barrette.

Happy with her work, she turned off the light, flit to the living room and slipped on her favorite brown sandals. Nearly forgetting her keys, she bolted to the kitchen and scooped them off the counter before sauntering out of the home, locking the door and descending the steps.

This was an important day for Yamanaka Ino, and she always looked nice for special occasions.

* * *

Without her normal charge duty (Kimimaro) from 7:15 to 8:15, Sakura found herself unusually listless. Perhaps she looked forward to seeing the awkwardly removed, incredibly polite and articulate Kimimaro but she figured it had more to do with the information he'd disclosed to her regarding Sasuke than anything. She wanted to tell him, for her own sanity to tell her that he made it all up and he never even mentioned her name.

That's certainly how life worked for Haruno Sakura. Always wanting what you can never have.

She sighed heavily and directed her attention back to the stack of paperwork she isn't scheduled to 'begin' until 9:00. Picking up a pen and grabbing the first stack, she sighed again before setting off to make the first stroke of her signature only to be interrupted by the hardly audible, rapt upon her office door.

Without thinking, she welcomes the unknown party in. Her eyes shoot from the paper to the door and she lets out a breath she doesn't know she's been holding when her green eyes rest upon the pale figure of Kimimaro.

She let her face show confusion because Kimimaro clothed in something other than a hospital gown was indeed quite confusing, especially so early in the morning.

"May I come In?" He queries, the pinnacle of robotic politeness.

Her face is still contorted in surprise and she's getting mad at herself for it.

"Of course Kimimaro-san, have a seat." She says after she breaks from her awkward reverie and ushers him to one of the two seats across her desk.

He's clad in simple clothing. A pair of black pants accompanied by a red, long sleeved shirt.

Sakura started staring at him again, apparently her brain was unable to process the words 'Kimimaro' and 'normal' in the same thought.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked, she knew it was bad if Kimimaro realized there was something amiss with her behavior.

Immediately she reigns in her shock (or awe or hormones depending upon who you ask of course,) with a light laugh, gentle scratch of the back of her head and the brief explanation.

"No! No! Nothing is wrong Kimimaro-san, you just look so healthy it shocked me!" She stated through the genuine laughter that overtook her when she realized how absolutely ridiculous she must be acting.

Kimimaro doesn't say a word. Sakura feels the awkwardness raise it's battle flag again.

"…. So Tsunade advised me that you've been offered citizenship! That's wonderful Kimimaro-san, but I have to ask, why on earth are you still here, in the hospital when you've been given free reign to do as you wish?" Sakura asked, finally confident she won't be subjected to an awkward-staring moment.

His eyes shift slightly, and she notices his hands knead each other, if you hadn't been looking, you would have missed it, that is how subtle the two motions were.

After moments of silence he finally meets her eyes with his own.

"I'm not sure what to do." He replies.

She doesn't know if she should laugh or cry at the hopelessness in his voice.

* * *

It is early.

FAR too early for Hatake Kakashi.

It is early and his bed is too welcoming.

It is early and his temper is at critical mass.

It is early and there is someone hammering at his door.

With a toneless grunt he pulls himself from the gentle embrace of his bed. When his feet hit the ground he looks at the mattress with sorrow.

"I'll be right back" he tells no one in particular.

As he's making the short trip from his bedroom to the front door, he takes note of the orange tint of the sky and realizes it's dawn. He's slept for maybe two hours.

His temper is getting worse with every step and the knocking isn't letting up.

He decides that who ever has cause to wake him up this early must have a death wish and a damned good explanation better come of it.

Before opening the door he pats his face to make sure his mask is still there and isn't rolled down like it normally is when he's sleeping because Kakashi is a restless sleeper.

His hand grasps the door knob and slings the door open, he puts the best 'boring' face on he can muster and shuts his eyes too easily simply because he is too tired.

"This better be good" he manages to state before he opens his eyes.

Ino is standing at his door.

Ion's hair is doing something he hasn't seen before, and it's…. girly.

Ino's in a dress….

Ino is…. Smiling..

Ino is smiling at him.

If there is only one thing that can wake Hatake Kakashi up it's a pretty, smiling girl. They've always been his downfall. Secretly he's glad that sakura has never asked him for anything.

* * *

Ino felt her face flush.

She was flush for a lot of reasons, she is at Kakashi's door at 7:00 am and Kakashi is standing at his door in nothing but his black sweat pants and his mask. His hair is a mess and she can see the scars that litter his chest and arms.

But, Ino has never been one to embarrass easily.

She smiles, probably the largest smile she is capable of, shuts her eyes and tilts her head slightly to the left (anyone who knows her knows that this action is one she uses when she needs time to think).

"Good morning Kakashi-san" she states, the smile never leaving her face.

Kakashi is standing there. Stock still and dead silent.

"Kakashi are you alright?" She asks and suddenly realizes that she's woken him up.

Her eyes divert to the wooden floor of the older man's apartment and she says with none of the confidence that was her trademark when she was younger, "I know it's early, and I'm sorry for coming by unannounced but I was hoping you could do something with me this morning. It wont take long and I'll owe you for it."

Kakashi quirks his eyebrow. After a long silence he finally replies and her eyes find his from the floor "Aa. Let me get dressed. Make yourself at home Ino" he smiles with his eye before turning on her and disappearing down the hall with the grace known only to Kakashi Hatake.

Ino finds herself sitting rigidly on his couch. Suddenly she's nervous and she's not entirely sure why. Her hormones are not what brought her here (anyone who knew Ino Yamanaka also knows that any change she deems irregular in her behaviour is a direct result of hormones), Kakashi has done so much for her in the past few months this is her way of repaying that debt. She smiled when she thought about what she had planned.

Kakashi entered the room again. Clad just like every other day and Ino didn't mind this when she normally would have. Kakashi was a rock, he never changed, he never broke. She knew several of the people who were lucky enough to be grounded by him and she felt privileged to know that she was among them now.

"So Miss Yamanaka, where to?" he asked with the now familiar smiling eye.

She rose from the couch and smiled before taking his large hand into hers and leading them out of his own door. Stopping only for a moment to pick up a small bag she left outside his door.

"You'll see" was all she said.

Kakashi hated surprises. But he could never argue with a pretty, smiling girl.

* * *

Even though it was far too early in the morning for him, and he didn't have nearly as much sleep as he required he couldn't make himself mad if he tried.

Ino had only been smiling fleetingly for a few weeks now, but smiling at all was a large step for her. He thinks something in his heart swelled when he connected the dots and realized that she was smiling because she was glad to see him. Her smiles were special, he knew that given their many nights spent together in companionable silence.

She was coming back around.

He let himself be dragged along, not because he's notoriously lazy but because he didn't allow himself many pleasures in life, but he got a measure of joy out of the way her hand had to squeeze his just a little tighter when he lagged behind. He smiled to no one in particular while his blonde companion charged along with the dedication he knew she always had.

He knows that people fall. Humans by nature, are masters of recovery. We can recover from broken limbs, broken hearts, and broken homes. He knows from personal experience how hard it is to let people near when you're weak.

He wonders curiously what his friend Asuma would say if he saw him holding his pupils hand.

Ino stops and turns around, not breaking eye contact. "What's so funny?" She asks, a tinge of red finding a home on her otherwise pale cheeks. He hadn't realized he was laughing, but he was laughing with much more conviction now, not to mention drawing the attention of the few cart-keepers who were setting up their stalls for the day.

He regains his composure after a moment, because he never really allows himself anything "nothing Ino, I was just remembering that Sakura had peed her pants on this road when she was a genin on the way back from a mission." He states, in his 'serious' tone. Little did the general public know, Kakashi was the monster responsible for 90% of the ridiculous rumors plaguing the people he knows. Only because he's able to make something completely ridiculous sound convincing on absolutely no notice.

Ino's eyes light up a little bit, and she starts laughing, only a little.

He inwardly winces because he can feel the knot that will be on his jaw when this little gem gets around….

She grabs his hand again and continues walking, all while dragging him along.

He's sure Asuma would threaten him, tell him not to do anything to Ino that he would do to Sakura, (and yes, they've had that conversation oddly enough) he smiles sadly, lost in his thoughts.

When they finally reach their destination, he finds the bank of the ancient river that runs through out the land of fire. This place held no special sentiment for him really so he looks at Ino quizzically.

She releases his hand, and he finds he misses the contact. She removes heavy canvas and calligraphy pens from the bag.

"This is the surprise." She says seriously. Kakashi can do nothing other than look confused.

She shoves a piece of canvas and a pen into his chest with the most saddening yet sweet smile he's ever seen. The kind of beauty you find in sorrow.

"You write down the names of everyone you miss…. Then we fold it up into a crane and let it into the river and maybe some day, someone will find that crane on the water and remember them too." Even though the smile on her face stated otherwise, the tear down her cheek didn't lie.

He pushed a lock of her hair aside when it threatened to get caught in that tear, and the thought of it was offensive. He let his hand linger, and she probably wouldn't notice. He didn't allow himself many things, and moving the hair out of the face of a pretty crying girl was one thing he did allow.

He could tell from the gloss in her eyes that more tears were threatening to escape.

He panicked.

He moved his hand from the rogue lock of hair and patted her head.

He could see the confusion flash in her eyes but that was enough to get her mind off crying.

"That sounds like a great idea Ino." he said before he took her hand and led her closer still to the bank of the river. He took his jounin vest off and handed it to her, "To sit on… you are wearing a dress and it is white after all." the eye crease followed shortly.

They sat down and began writing for what seemed like hours.

Until characters were so close together the entire sheet seemed black.

If he had known that he would be a good hike away from home at dawn, on two hours of sleep, writing and doing origami with a pretty girl. Well, he would have went to sleep sooner.

"I don't know how to make a crane." He said matter of factly before looking across the small space to her unusually resplendent, blue eyes.

"I can show you, but I can't do it for you, just watch what I do." she says, and she must have forgotten she was with Kakashi the Copy-Ninja because she took great care in explaining exactly what to do. The corners of his mouth twitched upwards in a smile that no one would know.

Pleased with his work she angles the arm holding the crane in just a way that it's over the water, but barely. He stands up and makes his way unceremoniously to the water, he sets the paper bird down gently, and she notices this because she was looking for it. His eyes close and she can feel that heaviness that surrounds him normally when they are sitting at the stone. Her heart aches a little but she cuts it off as she looks to her own bird. She sets it atop the water,

They sit for a long while in that same companionable silence they are now so fond of as they see both figures make their way down the river and out of their line of sight.

He is the first to break from his reverie. He stands and offers his hand to her and she gladly accepts it. She sheepishly looks down at the now sandy jounin vest and he nods in understanding before picking it up.

"No harm done." He says with a smile as he's patting the sand from the material.

She laughs when he puts it on and silently models it for her. Wordlessly asking if it looks alright and if it makes him look pale, and Ino laughs harder because she likes to think that she's the only person who can see Kakashi doing this, and knowing exactly what he's saying without saying a word.

* * *

A/N: Okay… I hope that kind of makes up for my hiatus…. I don't think I've really enjoyed writing something so much in a while I know this is rather Kakashi/Ino centric but it just came out pretty easily. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. For the record, I think this is the longest chapter I've ever written. They keep getting longer and longer…. Oh dear.


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